The Unique Identification Card (UID) is indeed unique on many counts. It is neither legal nor illegal. The UPA says it is a panacea for all evils but experts say it is not feasible. But the way the UPA Government is trying to enforce the UID card on people is shocking. In fact, the Government has lost its direction. Till date, thousands of crores of rupees have been spent. The Congress Government has announced that the cash transfer scheme will be linked with this card. The Congress thinks that this card could be the key to the next general election. All efforts are being made to make it successful. But the irony is that even the Cabinet Ministers of the UPA do not know whether this is a card or a number. How would you define a Government that spends millions over a project and its Ministers say they are confused about it?
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) Bill is pending in Parliament. If this Bill is passed, then UID will become legally valid. But the problem is that the Parliamentary Committee has rejected this Bill. It is not yet clear whether this Bill will be passed or whether this Government will survive till this Bill is passed. There is another problem : a retired judge of the Karnatka High Court has approached the Supreme Court with a list of objections. He has raised some serious questions on this card, which are being heard by the Chief Justice of India, Mr. Altmash Kabir. For the last 3 years, Chauthi Duniya has been continuously raising questions on this card and has published stories about the threat and the ‘infeasibility’ of the UID card.
In a recently held Cabinet meeting, UID became a bone of contention. Shockingly, Cabinet Ministers started discussing whether UID is a card or a number. There were Ministers who said it is a card and but some said it is just a number. Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh, who has been fielded along with Finance Minister P Chidambaram to project Aadhaar-linked benefits, made the point that UID was essentially a number. Those who voiced doubts about UID’s format included Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal, Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, Kumari Selja, Minister for Heavy Industries, Praful Patel and Railway Minister Pawan Bansal. The debate could not be settled in the meeting so interestingly, a Group of Ministers (GOM) was formed to examine issues related to duplication or overlap between the National Population Register (NPR) and the UID.
The UID scheme involves Rs 5,000 crore in the initial stage. It’s been more than 3 years that UIDAI has been operating; it is shameful that cabinet Ministers are confused over it. The question is : what will this GOM do? Half of the population has already got the Aadhaar card; but still we see the National Population Registrar has begun the process of making the NPR Card. Now, what is the difference between these two cards? Nobody has any idea about it. Nobody is answering these questions. To add to the confusion, the Congress and the UPA Government have announced that the cash transfer scheme can only be availed by those who have the Aadhaar card.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, joined the chorus. He said that Aadhaar is not a card but a number. But the reality is different. Is the Government trying to bluff people? We are putting some proofs before you. Kindly see the picture of the hoarding which is an advertisement for UID. It clearly indicates that Aadhaar is a card. Everyone in this advertisement is holding an Aadhaar card. It is appalling to see that the UPA and its leaders rendered themselves a laughing stock.
The working of the Government is also as unique as the card itself. The Central Government has made the Aadhaar card mandatory for Provident Fund without issuing any legal order. The linking of UID with Employees Provident Fund is a manifest case of linguistic corruption wherein Planning Commission’s Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) continues to claim that enrolment for UID/Aadhaar number is ‘Voluntary’ on its website. The Central Government’s regulations make it quite clear that the Unique Identification (UID)/Aadhaar number has been made mandatory for any Provident Fund transaction under the Employees Provident Fund scheme operated by the Employees Provident Fund Organisation without any legal mandate. Obviously, by doing this it becomes mandatory for anyone who wants to get the benefit of any Government scheme. There is a question here, if Aadhaar card is being made for half of the population and NPR for the rest, then how can this Aadhaar card be made essential for Provident Fund? What will the people of those States do where only the NPR card is being made and not UID?

How would you define a Government that spends millions over a project and its Ministers say they are confused about it?… The Government should answer whether any feasibility test has been done for the Aadhaar card. If not, why is it being imposed? Whether any nation of this world is using such a card? Has this technology been successful in any part of the world? Is there any country in the world where Government schemes have been linked with such a card or number? The truth is that nobody knows how this card works. In fact, these foreign private companies are testing their technology in India and we are just guinea-pigs.

There is a very peculiar point in column number 9 of the Aadhaar card. In UID/Aadhaar Enrolment Form, Column 9 reads: “I have no objection to the UIDAI sharing information provided by me to the UIDAI with agencies engaged in delivery of welfare services”. In front of this column, there is a “Yes” and “No” option. Irrespective of what option residents of India exercise (which is being ticked automatically by the enroller in any case as of now), the fact is this information being collected for creating a Centralised Identity Data Register (CIDR) and National Population Register (column 7) will be handed over to biometric technology companies like Satyam Computer Services/Sagem Morpho, L1 Identities Solutions and Accenture Services of all shades who have already been awarded contracts. Chauthi Duniya has exposed earlier that these companies are associated with officials of a US intelligence agency. It makes this issue serious. The Government has not made clear before the media or Parliament why tenders have been given to these private companies when these companies have a tainted background.
Why is the Manmohan Singh led Government secretive about Nandan Nilekani and UIDAI? Why have they been given so much importance? What is the secret? As per the communication from UIDAI dated July 2, 2010, “The decision for appointment of Chairman was conveyed by the Cabinet Secretariat”. The Planning Commission’s notification (which was to be published in the Gazette of India) dated July 2, 2009 reveals that “the competent authority has approved the appointment of Nandan Nilekani, Co-Chairman, INFOSYS as Chairperson, Unique Identification Authority of India, in the rank and status of a Cabinet Minister. Nilekani will hold appointment for an initial tenure of five years”. It only means that Nandan Nilekani was made the Chairman of UIDAI while he was Co-Chairman of INFOSYS. It is also inexplicable as to why Shri Nilekani who has not taken the oath of secrecy mandatory for a Cabinet Minister is being handed over the sensitive personal information of citizens and workers. How will he be held liable and accountable if he and his appointees hand over the UID/Aadhaar database to foreign Governments and private ‘agencies engaged in delivery of welfare services’?

All the claims Nandan Nilekani and the UPA Government made about the UID have been proved wrong. Nandan’s biggest claim was that no one can make a duplicate of this card. But he has been proven wrong. Several complaints came in this regard which proved that this card is neither foolproof nor secure. Now, Nandan should answer why he made false promises to the people of this country. However, the UIDAI ordered an investigation in this matter. Till date, 300 operators have been blacklisted in Maharashtra alone of whom 22 are Mumbai based. In December 2012, UIDAI cancelled 3.84 lakh Aadhaar numbers because they were found bogus.
While it came to Jan Lokpal, the Government said laws are not made on the road. Parliament is supreme and we have a procedure for making laws. Why were no rules or laws followed in case of UIDAI? The operation of UID is not legal as the Bill is pending in Parliament. Moreover, a Parliamentary Committee has rejected UID and declared it baseless. The Parliamentary Committee has raised the same question which has been raised by Chauthi Duniya. Out of 31 members of this Committee, 28 members rejected the UIDAI project. The seven grounds on which the Committee based its report were: lack of feasibility study, hasty approval, threats to national security, being directionless, using unreliable technology, need for privacy and data-protection and lack of coordination among Government agencies involved. The Parliamentary Committee said “The Committee are also unhappy to observe that the UID scheme lacks clarity on many issues such as even the basic purpose of issuing “aadhaar” number. Although the scheme claims that obtaining aadhaar number is voluntary, an apprehension is found to have developed in the minds of people that in future, services / benefits including food entitlements would be denied in case they do not have aadhaar number. It is also not clear as to whether possession of aadhaar number would be made mandatory in future for availing of benefits and services. Even if the aadhaar number links entitlements to targeted beneficiaries, it may not ensure that beneficiaries have been correctly identified. Thus, the present problem of proper identification would persist.” The Committee rejected this project and sent it to the Government for reconsideration.
The Government should answer whether any feasibility test has been done for this card. If not, why is it being imposed? Whether any nation of this world is using such a card? Has this technology been successful in any part of the world? Is there any country in the world where Government schemes have been linked with such a card or number? The truth is that nobody knows how this card works. In fact, these foreign private companies are testing their technology in India and we are just guinea-pigs.
Now, only the Prime Minister and the Home Minister can explain why the Government spent so much money without passing this Bill. This matter pertains to the Home Ministry but the Prime Minister should answer this question because UIDAI chief Nandan is a friend of the Prime Minister. What kind of democracy is this, where despite rejection by the Parliamentary Committee, the Government spends thousands of crores of rupees and still has no idea whether it is a card or a number? If this Bill is not passed in Parliament and if for any reason this project is withdrawn then what will the Government do? How will the money of taxpayers be reimbursed? Will Nandan Nilekani return this money or Mr. Prime Minister repay it? UID need to be investigated and the Government must issue a white paper so that the truth is known to the people of India.

AN IMPORTANT QUESTION
Chauthi Duniya had published a story on UID card in August 2011 and made it clear how this card is dangerous. UIDAI gave a tender to three companies — Acenture, Mahindra Satyam-Morfo and L-1 Identity Solution. Just take the example of L-1. Its various directors have a link with US Intelligence agencies. Its CEO had said in 2006 that he has included George Tenet of CIA in the Board of the company. George Tenet has been the director of CIA and he is the person who had collected false evidence against Iraq in the case of weapon of mass destruction. The question is : why is the Indian Government trying to share information with such companies. On the one hand these companies will make a huge amount of money and on the other hand they can misuse such information.

A MOST DANGEROUS SITUATION
In November 2011, Chauthi Duniya again published a report on the UID card and warned about the misuse of UID information and its impact. It had menftioned a machine named Holerith D-11 placed at the Holocaust Memorial Museum at USA. This machine was built by IBM before the Second World War. This machine was used by Hitler in 1933 for making a census and detecting the Jews population. The nexus between IBM and Hitler resulted in a massacre of the Jews. The Indian Government gave a green signal to the UIDAI project without taking any lessons from the history even though it is clear that such information can be used against some particular religion, caste or area. Is it not a dangerous situation?

“The government will listen. It depends on the movement of the people because we are a democracy. What I want is peace and justice, not the administration of a government that uses violence as a means for their governance,” said a frail and emotional Irom Sharmila, addressing the media outside a Delhi Court, which has charged her with attempt to commit suicide. (Read full report here)

Sharmila has been charged by the Delhi court in a 2006 case that was booked against her by the Delhi Police after she declared a fast unto death from Jantar Mantar. Described as the Iron Lady of Manipur, Sharmila pleaded not guilty to the charge of attempt to commit suicide before the Delhi Court. The next date of hearing has been fixed for May 22.

On request by her lawyers, Sharmila was permitted by the Delhi Court to a five-minute interaction with the press.

PTI

Responding to question regarding the government’s stand that repeal of the AFSPA depended on the Army’s assessment of the ground realities, Sharmila said, “The government and the Army are colluding to cheat the people. The government is of the people, by the people and for the people. The government should control the Army also.”

On whether she had requested the government to permit her family and supporters free access to her, she said, “They are so scared to give me my fundamental rights. I am also a social being. I am innocent woman who loves civilization.”

When asked whether she had faith in the legal system and the central government, she said, “I have in faith in God. God will also guide the wrong-doers. I will remind them that of their real responsibility as a leaders of a society.”

Reacting to a question on the setting up of the three-member commission headed by former Supreme Court Judge Justice Hegde, which has begun hearing cases of alleged extra-judicial killings by security forces, in Manipur, Sharmila said, “The government will remain adamant for the time being. The Jeevan Reddy committee has already recommended the repeal of this draconian law.”

Making a final statement, Sharmila said, “I’m following the non-violent principle of the Father of Nation. The government should not discriminate. As a leadership, they should behave unbiasedly…I have in faith in God. God will also guide the wrong-doers. I will remind them that of their real responsibility as a leaders of a society.”

The Human Rights Law Network (HRLN) is representing Sharmila in Delhi. Speaking to the press, Svetlana, one of her counsels, said, “Now the case will move into the trial stage. If she is unable to come because of her health conditions, we will move an application for exempting her from being present in court. We haven’t filed any application to move the trial to Manipur.”

Outside the Delhi Court, students and supporters staged a protest, shouting slogans seeking the repealing of the law.

Asked what their message to Sharmila was, former president of the Manipur Students Association Delhi, Seram Rojesh said, “We are here to give solidarity to her. The police denied us permission to meet her. In this struggle, we want to show her that she is not alone. The world is with her. She has done nothing wrong. She is fasting for the right to a dignified life. But she has been charged with 309 of IPC. We are protesting the very idea of charging her.” Rojesh is also the coordinator of the Save Democracy, Repeal AFPSA Campaign.

Ratlam/ Indore: A 30-year old Dalit woman suffered a serious emotional jolt, besides physical injuries, as she was raped by four men in Barodiya village in Ratlam on Friday night. The accused had allegedly threatened her husband with an axe all throughout the incident as others took turns to rape the victim.

Immediately after the heinous act, all four fled the spot but were later nabbed by local police.

According to victim’s complaint, the accused entered her hovel in a secluded field at around 2130 hours on Friday night. When the victim’s husband protested, he was hit on the face by one of the men. Subsequently, her husband and children saw the shameful act in silence as accused brandished razor sharp axes. After they left, her husband raised an alarm and all villagers gathered inside their house.

The victim was escorted to local police station by the villagers at 0230 hours in the night. The police lodged a complaint under SC/ST Act.

Following a massive manhunt, all of the four accused have been arrested.

For the residents of this tiny non-descript village in Odisha’s Kalahandi-Bolangir-Koraput region, it was a rare celebratory occasion on Sunday when they got back the rights that had been snatched away by the British rulers nearly a century ago.

The official transit passbook for cultivation and harvest of bamboo was handed over to the Jamguda Gram Sabha by Orissa forest officials. Union Rural Development and Tribal Affairs Ministers Jairam Ramesh and Kishore Chandra Deo and Odisha Revenue minister Surjya Narayan Patra attended a Tribal Rights festival organised by the Gram Sabha to mark the event.

Jamguda became the first village in Odisha to be provided community rights to harvest and sell bamboo under the Forest Rights Act, 2006. Mendha Lekha in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra was the first village in the country to have been given bamboo transit passbooks in April 2011. A few more villages near Mendha Lekha obtained the rights subsequently.

Mr. Ramesh had earlier written to Orissa’s Naveen Patnaik and the Chief Ministers of five other Maoist-affected States to hand over full control of transit passbooks to the Gram Sabhas where community forest rights were recognised.

Addressing Jamguda villagers, Mr. Ramesh and Mr. Deo said the Centre would extend full cooperation in providing tribals and other traditional forest dwellers the right over minor forest produce such as bamboo, kendu leaf and mahula flower.

Mr. Ramesh underlined the need for ensuring development of the tribal people in order to check the growth of Maoists in the tribal regions. “We have to understand why the tribal people were feeling alienated and were unhappy that benefits of development had not reached them so far and their land was being taken away by non-tribal people for different projects.”

Hostile treatment

Tribal people had been treated as enemies by Forest Department officials since the British enforced the Forest Act in 1927 and all land in tribal areas was declared forest land, said Mr. Deo. Under the present laws, granting tribals land rights should be the main priority, he said.

Ejaz, who is likely to walk out of the Parappana Agrahara Central Jail on Monday morning, was among the 15 youths held by the Bangalore police in August-November 2012 for suspected terror activities. However, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the probe and charged only 11 of the 15 arrested. While two of the arrested youths were discharged, Ejaz was granted bail on Thursday.

Ejaz’s father, Rauf Abdul Mirza, confirmed the DRDO order and said he will be reaching Bangalore on Monday morning. “Yes, we received a termination letter from the DRDO dated February 12. However, my current priority is to get my son out on bail and further action will be decided once he is back. We have been told that he will be able to get back to DRDO and we hope it will be possible,” he said.

A DRDO spokesperson said: “He was not a DRDO employee, but was just a junior research fellow with one of the labs, and was taken in early 2012. It is a fellowship programme, and fellows are normally taken for a particular study, which is ongoing and they are encouraged to enroll for PhD etc, while they gain research experience with our labs. This is purely a temporary assignment.

“Based on the performance of a fellow, or when a particular study is completed, his fellowship can be terminated at any point of time by the local lab director. Or, he could get upgraded to a senior research fellow, but even that is not permanent employment with DRDO. The decision on a fellow is left purely to the lab director, and the ministry of defence and DRDO headquarters have no role at all,” the spokesperson added.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had been searching him for the last two years in connection with the Ahmedabad blast incident too and had visited Ranchi’s Bariatu area twice looking for him earlier.

New Delhi: Police have arrested Nepaliactor Khushbu Hamal Thakuri along with Kamal Chaudhary (34) and Surya Karki (28) on Saturday in central Delhi’s Nabi Karim area in connection with human trafficking and duping people on the pretext of getting them work visa for European and African countries.

Reportedly, DCP Devesh Srivastava said that they were involved in human trafficking and impersonated as employees of the embassy. They charged anything between Rs 2-4 lakh from them on the pretext of getting them work visa for foreign countries. Later they would escape leaving them in lurch. Some of their victims were from Nepal as well.

A senior cop said that they were running the trafficking racket since past three years.

Malajpur: A woman clad in sari with her hair wild, scrambles on a heap of mud with pebbles strewn all around, as if trying to run away from some invisible and mysterious power. She dons a terrifying look on her face as she sinks to her knees, sobbing loudly.

These ‘devotees’ have arrived at Malajpur; a village in Madhya Pradesh‘s Betul district, 350 km from state capital Bhopal, for being exorcised at a shrine of Guru Maharaj Deoji, a Hindu holy man who is believed to have lived in the 18th century. ‘Devotees’ believe that he had the power to exorcise evil spirits.

How did this start:

People believe that since the beginning of 18th century this month-long fair is being held annually at Malajpur during the ongoing Magh month.

The people who bring their relatives here believe that their bodies have been “taken over by the ghosts of the dead” and that exorcism is the only release for them.

New Delhi: Manipur‘s ‘iron lady’, Irom Sharmila, appeared in city’s Patiala Court on Monday in an attempt to suicide case. The Patiala House court framed charges against the social activist for attempting to commit suicide in 2006 when she sat on a fast at Jantar Mantar in the national capital. She has been on a fast-unto-death stir against the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in Manipur since past 12 years.

Urging the court to treat her case as special her lawyer said that since she has already been in custody for six years, she should be let off because under Section 309 the period of imprisonment is only one year. She was charged under Section 309 six years ago, when she brought her agitation against AFSPA in Manipur to Delhi. She had then continued her fast and refused to take medical intervention. Her condition deteriorated that forced Delhi Police to file attempt to suicide charges against her and force-fed at the AIIMS , before she was allowed to go back to Imphal.

Irom Sharmila launched her fast-unto-death in 2000 after 10 civilians were killed by Assam Rifles personnel at Malom near Imphal airport.

Globally, patientfinancing companies like Springstone and Medicard bear the cost of a patient’s treatment including surgeries, procedures and even pharma prescriptions, ranging from $2,000 to $40,000.
MUMBAI: Soon you will be able to finance the purchase of prescription medication. With healthcare costs going through the roof and exorbitantly-priced medicines making treatment inaccessible for many, companies are trying to reach out to patients and provide options of convenient monthly payments.

These companies include patient financing start-ups which will provide options so patients don’t delay expensive treatments and have access to medication through a customised repayment plan — an affordable alternative to personal loans and credit cards.

Globally, patient financing companies like Springstone and Medicard bear the cost of a patient’s treatment including surgeries, procedures and even pharma prescriptions, ranging from $2,000 to $40,000. Healthcare financing start-up Mya Health Credit will soon offer loans to patients for financing prescriptions.

Mya Health Credit’s founder Manish Menda says, “we are in talks with domestic pharma companies and will soon be rolling out the financing of pharma prescriptions over Rs 75,000 for a tenure of 12, 18 or 24 months. We will also offer financing of medical devices—used by the consumer, like hearing aids or pacemakers as their costs add up to over a lakh or so.”

Though the company is still working out the finer details, it has tied-up with Tata Finance which will provide ‘loans’ for purchasing medicines after appropriate verification checks. Hitesh Gajaria, partner KPMG, said: “This is a way of deepening the market and increasing accessibility by offering customised loans for healthcare. Patient financing is a niche area and India is a huge unserved market.”

The pay-as-you-go approach is a great model for countries like India where there is no reimbursement system and expenditure on health is largely out-of-pocket, industry experts say. In US, pharma expenses are about 8-15% of total healthcare cost while in India it may go as high as 60% in therapies. Pharma company Biogen Idec offers two critical medicines, meant for multiple sclerosis patients at half the cost, and is exploring finance options through a public-private partnership where it can part-finance the treatment, says the company’s MD Sameer Savkur.